What is one characteristic that successful, confident leaders typically have? High emotional intelligence in leadership.
The good news that we, as executive leadership coaches, like to share with our clients is that it’s possible to develop and expand emotional intelligence (also called EQ for short).
Understanding EQ – And Making the Most of It
Emotional intelligence in leadership is possessing the ability to understand not only your own emotional response to a situation but also the emotional and interpersonal needs of others who are involved so that you can respond effectively.
If you’re looking to boost your EQ, emotional articulation is a key tool to use.
Emotional articulation is the process of determining exactly which emotions you’re feeling – being able to articulate them. This often means comparing or considering emotions that may be related. Generally, emotional articulation examines two or three emotions that you’re feeling concurrently.
For example, if you’re about to give a presentation to an important client, you might say you’re nervous. If you drill down, however, the underlying emotions might range from scared, worried and tense to excited, uncertain and agitated.
Being able to articulate exactly which emotions you’re feeling is a way to identify the root causes so that you can find the best solutions. What you’re feeling will directly inform how you respond and approach the situation.- If you’re feeling vulnerable before meeting with a big client, you can remind yourself that you are prepared and ready to connect.
- If you’re fearful that something will go wrong, you can run through worst-case scenarios and how you’ll respond in the unlikely event that they happen.
- If you’re anxious before the meeting, you can do some deep breathing and movement to relax and calm down.
- If you’re excited to pitch, harness that positive energy to try for the win.
- If you’re insecure, review your main points and trust you’re as prepared as you can be.
- If you’re agitated, take a walk or talk with a trusted mentor to get your head in the game.
The Benefits of Emotional Articulation
When you slow down to reflect and get to the precise feelings, you make your EQ more effective by:
- Achieving deeper emotional awareness.
- Gaining better insight into yourself in the moment.
- Approaching the nuanced emotions with curiosity to determine what information they provide to you (rather than viewing emotions as problematic, requiring them to be managed and resolved).
- Allowing you to find a way forward, using your energy more efficiently and helping to make informed decisions.
Leaders who focus on emotional articulation are more effective because high emotional intelligence in leadership is connected to handling radical disruption with agility. A high EQ will help leaders strategically use emotions to improve morale among team members, foster creativity, build stronger relationships and help their teams navigate challenges.
These leaders have great empathy. They understand the needs and wants of members of their team by observing verbal and non-verbal cues. There is understanding of how these folks feel, and these leaders genuinely want to know how their direct reports are doing and are willing to provide support as needed.
Ways to Put Emotional Articulation into Practice
It’s possible for leaders to improve their use of emotional articulation at work. Here are five ways to work on your practice of it.
1. Focus on what, not why.
This can be very important because “what” is curious. What is making me feel like this? What am I feeling? In contrast, asking “why” can feel critical or loaded with judgment. When it’s hard to face feelings, asking “what” can be a great starting place.
2. Vow to be honest.
Some emotions can be difficult to face, let alone identify. If something is challenging to admit, push yourself. Ask yourself: What do I need to admit to myself here? What will I gain if I am honest about this feeling?
3. Check how you’re feeling physically – your body doesn’t lie.
Are your palms sweaty? Is your heart racing? Is your gut upset? We get used to ignoring what our body tells us but it can provide a snapshot of our emotional state when we pause to reflect. Be self-aware to glean information. Often a repeated emotion is tied to a repeated physical feeling. The goal is to treat our emotions as data to inform our next steps.
4. Expand your emotional intelligence vocabulary.
Keep looking for adjectives to describe the complexity of various emotions. This can be a great activity to do with members of your team. Not convinced? Look up flummoxed, verklempt and abashed. The bigger the vocabulary you have to describe emotions, the more adept you will be at emotional articulation. And, by the way, naming emotions helps us to understand them so that we don’t feel overwhelmed – the emotions aren’t in control when we can articulate what we’re feeling. As coaches, parents, grandparents and friends, we often refer to the expression, “name it, to tame it” to refer to recognizing and responding to our emotions.
Check out the emotions wheel here. It’s a powerful tool that provides a visual representation of a wide range of emotions, making it easier to pinpoint and express what you’re experiencing.
5. Expand your understanding of EQ
Research indicates that emotional intelligence in leadership is a critical skill. At Padraig, we use different assessments and guides, including the Everything DiSC and EQi2.0, to help our clients understand themselves and their team members better. Participants receive a detailed personalized profile based on their results. With coaching and group learning, participants learn how to improve their EQ in practical ways and maximize their strengths.
Coach’s Questions:
How can you develop your emotional intelligence skills? What would improving your EQ do for your leadership? What can you do this week to improve your emotional articulation and that of your team?
